UTXOs with a positive value and scripts beginning with OP_RETURN are unspendable and are classified as Provably Lost.

Abstract

Use of transactions with OP_RETURN outputs is a common way to record arbitrary data in the bitcoin blockchain. While these outputs usually have a value of '0', some consume positive amounts and are by nature unspendable so represent provably lost supply.

Implementation

These UTXOs can be identified by checking to see if script_asm starts with OP_RETURN :

output.script_asm.startsWith('OP_RETURN ')

Example

Transaction 139c004f477101c468767983536caaeef568613fab9c2ed9237521f5ff530afd has the following output:

    {
      value: 0.001,
      n: 1,
      scriptPubKey: {
        asm: 'OP_RETURN d68bdab455902dcc59f4e8f775a59c58ea8ae8f0a6cb7f3b96f8a3cfd84c9af7',
        hex: '6a20d68bdab455902dcc59f4e8f775a59c58ea8ae8f0a6cb7f3b96f8a3cfd84c9af7',
        type: 'nulldata'
      }
    }